Growing up in Singapore, Ray Mohan always liked the idea of having a farm.

It was an unusual notion, given the island was about as far-flung from a farming nation as you could get.

But that dream has, in some ways, been fulfilled with her new role as a farm environmental adviser for Ravensdown which has her visiting farms throughout Otago and Southland. Ms Mohan (24) was 12 when her family moved to New Zealand, settling in Whakatane, which was a huge contrast to Singapore.

But the transition from city girl to country girl was not a difficult one to make, and she and her siblings embraced their new lifestyle. Interested in resource management, Ms Mohan headed to Massey University to study environmental science. . .

The New Zealand Super Fund has spent only a third of the $1.2 billion it has earmarked for Australasian primary sector investments but its holding might now veer from stock to crops and horticulture.

So far it has $400 million invested in New Zealand’s and Australia’s primary sectors, mostly in dairy, which shows its confidence in food production.

But its NZ direct investment portfolio manager Neil Woods said its 22 dairy and two beef farms could be the extent of its livestock holdings and future investments could be in cropping and horticulture. . .

Was up at 4.30am,milked, then on the tractor all day,milked in the arvo,went home for tea and back out at it again! Great sunset in the south tonight. If you didn't love it,you wouldn't do it. #agchatnzpic.twitter.com/JkIpB9xOoK

Vegetable noodles from Marton, deer milk from Southland and a sour ale from Matakana captured the podium positions at this year’s Massey Food Awards.

The eclectic food basket of category winners was topped by a range of vegetable noodles from Marton business the Whole Mix Company, a subsidiary of Spiers Foods, claiming the Massey University Supreme Award at this year’s competition.

Other category winners included the Clevedon Buffalo Company picking up the artisan award for its marinated mozzarella, the only produced by a New Zealand herd, while The Apple Press won the non-alcoholic section for its cold pressed apple juice and Alliance Group took the Frozen Award for its Te Mana Lamb range. Matakana based brewery 8 Wired claimed the alcoholic beverages award with its unusual sour beer Cucumber Hippy. . .

A Rangitikei farming operation has set up an apprenticeship scheme to train dairy workers. Jackie Harrigan reports.

On Bella Archer’s first day at work as a dairy farm assistant, she learned how to ride a two-wheel motorbike, and rode around and around the tanker track until she had mastered it.

On her second day she learned to drive the tractor.

And on day three she learned how to bring the cows up to the dairy shed on the Santoft farm.

A town girl and school leaver, 18-year-old Bella was casting around for a career, having decided against her earlier idea of sports psychology, and decided farming was worth a try as she liked working outside. . .

I’m a dairy farmer who loves to tell the story behind a glass of milk! Every story about the food we eat is important, but I think it has become even more important for those of us raising cattle.

For example: Have you ever heard that humans are the only species to drink milk after infancy?

Actually, there are a lot of things only humans do. That’s not necessarily the point this question is often intended to raise. People who say this usually aren’t trying to engage in thought-provoking small talk. Instead, they often have an agenda to shut the dairy industry down.

Earlier this year, I became so frustrated by these dumb claims that I promised myself not to engage in debates about them. . .

Producers who think they will benefit if overseas competitors are shut out of their domestic market or face high tariffs aren’t looking at the whole picture as Mexican dairy farmer Georgina Gutierrez explains:

Obrador, for example, talks about the importance of self-sufficiency, suggesting that our country can produce everything it consumes.

This idea holds a certain kind of appeal, at least on the surface. Consider my own case as a good example. I’m a dairy farmer. If our government were to stop importing milk, in the name of self-sufficiency, it would reduce the competition that I face from foreign producers and, presumably, allow me to flourish.

Yet in reality, we’d all suffer. Mexican dairy farmers don’t produce enough milk to meet the demands of consumers. Even if we did, we still wouldn’t be truly self-sufficient. Milk production doesn’t take just a dairy farmer with a bunch of cows—it also requires farmers who grow the food that dairy cows eat as well as technology and machinery that make us better producers. Mexico imports these goods as well.

In fact, my farm wouldn’t exist in its present state but for our ability to exchange goods and services across borders. We import corn, soy, canola, vitamins, medicine, and machinery, for example. This is how sustainable economies work, keeping prices in check for everyone. And it’s much better than the protectionism, price controls, and subsidies that central planners wrongly believe will fix the problems of their own market distortions. . .

In trade wars, producers and consumers get caught in the crossfire and pay the price with higher prices and less choice.

The only ones who win are the politicians and bureaucrats and even that’s usually only in the short-term.

Once economic growth slows as an inevitable consequence of higher prices, voters usually tire of the politicians responsible for it.

Obrador talks about the importance of self-sufficiency, suggesting that our country can produce everything it consumes. This idea holds a certain kind of appeal, at least on the surface. Consider my own case as a good example. I’m a dairy farmer. https://t.co/0BFpG5juc6pic.twitter.com/PSqU3NkezK